States' Supreme Court Election Results a Mixed Bag

Judicial elections weren't a clear sweep for either party.

A rare relative bright spot for Democrats on election night came in state supreme court races. It was more of a mixed bag than a clear-cut triumph, but on an otherwise devastating evening, Democrats will take it.

In two deeply red Southern states, voters chose the relatively more moderate judicial candidate. In Louisiana, that was Jimmy Genovese, and in Mississippi that meant incumbent Jim Kitchens.

Three justices targeted by pro-business interests -- Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, Charles Wiggins and Mary Yu -- were returned to the bench by voters in Washington state.

Republicans and conservatives, for their part, notched victories in Kentucky, where nonpartisan but Republican-aligned Larry VanMeter easily won an open supreme court seat; in Michigan, where incumbent justices David Viviano and Joan Larsen fended off challengers; in New Mexico, where Republican incumbent Judith Nakamura prevailed; and in Ohio, where Republicans Pat DeWine and Pat Fischer won contested races and incumbent Maureen O’Connor was re-elected unopposed.

Former Chief Justice Robert Young, Jr. announced Wednesday he is retiring from the Michigan Supreme Court and will step down by the end of April to return to his former law firm, Dickinson Wright in Detroit.
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